Ashland

It is said that in ancient days the great city that once acted as the heart of Ashland was one of the great wonders of New Meritta, and it was a great tragedy when Mount Mordhein, some two hundred and fifty years ago now, spewed molten stone from its peaks, causing the great burning. But Ashland is proof of the duality of Hairix, and even when great things are lost to this world, there is beauty in what rises. In modern times, Ashland is bursting with life. Fertile soil let Ashland transform itself to the agricultural epicenter of the kingdom. Some larger trading villages with a focus on shipping and the bazaars and marketplaces now dot the landscape nestled between the farmlands.

The Ashland serves a second major purpose in the empire, as it is also the seat of the great religion of the empire, kept strong over the centuries. The Celestial Host has been tied to the Empire of New Meritta throughout its existence, it serves the will of the empire, and the emperor serves its will. Technically, the Emperor is the divine seat, the highest of the Touched in the eyes of the church. In practice, Emperors do not typically devote themselves to the study of the Celestial Host like the adherents that make their way out of the monasteries and churches do. As such it has become customary for the Emperor to name a viscount to Ashland who doubles as the voice of the church. This viscount takes up residence within the beautiful High Basilica of the Celestial Host, along the eastern shore of Ashland.

Because of this connection to the church, most administration is performed through temples. Head Adherents in temples act as Barons in other lands, administrating and serving the people of Ashland. Borders within the kingdom are more loose than other regions, demarcated by proximity to a temple. Adherents spend as much time settling disputes as they do preaching. Within Ashland, and the many of the lands beyond, they have become arbiters of justice, wielding the authority of the will of the emperor. Their rulings can be appealed to viscount, and again to the emperor, though the number of overturned rulings is incredibly small.

Lord Obadiah Maekrix, Voice of the Celestial Host is a gold half dragonborn who has amassed quite a following in his time in the church. He grew up on the streets of Varina as a homeless orphan. Taken in by a kind old Adherent of the aspect of charity, Obadiah truly came to love and understand the church on a fundamental level. It was not long before he found himself a rising star in the structure of the church, landing at the High Basilica and serving as a clerk to the Voice and preaching as an adherent in the basilica itself. Maekrix’s appointment after his predecessor’s death was a shrewd political move by the emperor, who may have wished to put someone with a little less conviction in the role, but already Maekrix had been building a groundswell of grassroots support that would have been difficult to fight against. Ultimately, it has seemed to serve the Emperor well, Maekrix has been a loyal servant of the emperor, though he still carries significant clout and has his own vision for the future of the religions in New Meritta.